When IAG, the general insurance giant behind NZ brands AMI, State and NZI conducted research with several hundred of its customers in 2021, the results underlined one burning issue - customers wanted a better vehicle repair experience.
“The feedback was overwhelmingly clear,” says Dean MacGregor, executive general manager of supply chain & adjacencies. “Customers wanted a quality and timely repair, a quick start to the work, good communication throughout the process, and a mobility option.”
According to MacGregor, IAG was keen to deliver a better service to customers in times of stress.
“The reality is that having to get your car fixed often comes after a traumatic or dangerous accident,” says MacGregor. “We want our customers to know that if they need us, not only will their claim be handled well, but we can also connect them to an exceptional repair service that gets them back on the road as quickly, safely and stress-free as possible.”
“The research showed us that there is still room to improve how repairs are managed. And we want to lead that. Our aim is to offer customers the premium repair network in New Zealand, made up of Repairhub and a trusted network of repairers.”
Why IAG formed Repairhub
Like many other industries right now, the collision repair sector is experiencing unique challenges. The lingering impact of Covid-19 restrictions, supply chain delays, access to spare parts, and skill shortages are some of the issues facing repairers.
“Last year, AMI, State and NZI insured 1.5 million vehicles and facilitated 143,000 repairs at a cost of $387 million,” says MacGregor. “So, despite these issues, we knew that our size could be used to benefit customers, for example, by leveraging purchasing power and supply chain influence. And we’d seen this done before by other insurers in the form of rapid repair, non-structural repair services.”
As it looked to overhaul its repair operation, IAG hired Gary Geeves, a former chairman and current life member of the Collision Repair Association, to head up a new brand, Repairhub.
“IAG said to the project team, if you had a clean slate, with the priority being to build the best possible customer experience for a quality vehicle repair, what would you do differently? And they left us to it,” says Geeves.
“Customer service and team culture are everything to us,” says Geeves. “ We are relentlessly positive. We actively seek customer feedback, and we measure absolutely everything. We want to know what our customers want and are always looking for ways to improve.
“The collision repair industry works incredibly hard, and it would be a challenge for them to work any harder,” says Geeves. “So, we had to look at other ways to improve the customer experience, because there are only so many hours in a day.”
How Repairhub works
Streamlining processes offered opportunity, according to the insurer.
“A lot of the work is pretty similar,” says Geeves. “It’s bumps and dings, it’s minor paint damage. We could see a way of coordinating these types of jobs to get cars back to customers earlier, while still prioritising quality of the repair.”
In a Repairhub facility, vehicles move around the shop in a highly structured method: starting with a full assessment before moving onto specialist stations such as panel repairs or painting as required. Team members are assigned to individual stations, where they become highly skilled in that aspect of a repair, before having the opportunity to learn other areas of the business.
Geeves says Repairhub focuses on non-structural jobs to maximise customer convenience.
“We felt we could have more of an impact on the smaller and medium sized jobs. Private repair shops are well set up for the larger, structural work, and there are some very skilled practitioners out there. Where we felt we could add value was in these smaller and medium jobs, where we could set up an efficient, specialist production line to help get people back in their cars sooner.”
Training
At Repairhub, team members are fully qualified, with access to an in-house training base, run by a specialist trainer, whose job is to build a training plan for all employees. I-CAR, the industry’s training provider, runs training and welding tests regularly.
Geeves and the team are also building a new training centre at the soon-to-be-launched Repairhub in Brougham Street, Christchurch, which will provide a base to explore innovative new repair techniques such as plastic welding, minor robotic paint jobs, and other emerging techniques.
The new training centre will allow the team to expand its apprenticeship offering, which will soon be the largest in the country.
Industry scrutiny
“Being owned by IAG, we knew the industry would scrutinise us,” says Geeves. “And I think that’s how it should be – we’ve got high standards to meet, and we have to make sure we’re delivering a quality service. Because this is about people’s safety – these cars have to be repaired to the highest standards.”
Geeves has implemented a rigorous audit programme that covers health and safety, supply chain and customer experience, and includes random spot checks by external assessors.
“We are subject to more audits than other repairers,” says Geeves. “But we wouldn’t have it any other way. And while we are owned by IAG, we operate as a separate, adjacency business, held at arm’s length with separate management and operational teams.”
The network
Repairhub is part of a wider network of repairers available for AMI, State and NZI customers. The insurer says the panel approach is “the ideal way to ensure full capability for customers”.
This means customers have a range of vehicle repairers to choose from.
“It’s a collective approach,” says MacGregor. “We work closely with our network of repairers around the country and are continuously in conversation with them. We view it as a true partnership, where we share knowledge and expertise, and take on board their feedback and ideas. Our vision of a premium collision repair network for New Zealanders relies on a network of repairers who share the same ideals.”
MacGregor says Repairhub is adding value to the repair industry.
“Yes, Repairhub is a competitive player in this market, but we’re driven by doing what’s best for customers, and we give back to New Zealand’s wider repair network. We’re one more option for collision repair, and we’re adding real value to both the industry and customers.
“Customers are able to choose their own repairer, so if they have a local repair shop that they’ve used for years, they can continue to do so – because it’s about ensuring our customers have a great experience that works for them.”
